Average Community Health Nurse Salary In The UK

'Community Health Nurses come from the same foundations as a General Nurse, and indeed perform many similar tasks to a General Nurse – albeit in a different setting.'

This short guide covers how much you would expect to earn as a Community Health Nurse with a brief description of what the role entails.

Community Health Nurses, often referred to simply as Community Nurses, work within communities – providing care at GP surgeries, patient’s homes, schools and much more besides.

As a result, the nature of what Community Nurses do varies greatly from one job to the next.

But in comparison to a hospital-based Nurse, a key difference is that Community Health Nurses tend to offer care that is suited to a community setting.

Typically, this includes regular and ongoing treatments for elderly patients, disabled patients or those with diabetes, for example.

Community Health Nurses come from the same foundations as a General Nurse, and indeed perform many similar tasks to a General Nurse – albeit in a different setting.

But what are salaries like for Community Health Nurses? And what is the average salary for a Community Nurse?

This short guide answers these questions, and more.

What is the starting salary for a Community Health Nurse?

Technically, the starting salary for a Community Health Nurse is currently £27,055 a year.

Community Nurses are paid on the same NHS bandings as General Nurses – so start at band 5, the banding for all newly qualified Registered Nurses.

However, because Community Nurses normally need experience and further qualifications, their starting salaries are often higher than a newly qualified General Nurse.

What is the average pay for a Community Health Nurse?

The average salary for a Community Health Nurse is approximately £38,000 to £44,000 a year.

This range takes into account the latest data, and the typical experience levels and bandings of Community Nurses midway through their career.

There are some private sector roles for Community Nurses too, but pay varies more widely because it’s unregulated.

What is the highest salary a Community Health Nurse can earn?

Senior Community Nurses and District Nurses can earn salaries of £45,000 to £50,000, or beyond.

Furthermore, at consultant level it’s possible to reach a salary as high as £70,000 a year or beyond.

These levels of pay are in higher bandings and will require lots of varied experience, management credentials, and potentially, specialist qualifications.

How else can you boost your earnings as a Community Health Nurse?

Beyond building your experience or gaining new skills and qualifications to apply for more senior roles, you could consider bank or agency roles.

With enough experience and the flexibility to work in different locations, perhaps at short notice, bank and agency roles can offer higher daily rates of pay.

Private roles, anecdotally, can also offer higher salaries – but it can vary from one role to the next.

Furthermore, the benefits of a private sector role aren’t always as generous as those within the NHS.

Find your next Community Health Nurse job today

View our latest Community Health Nurse jobs here, or if you can’t find what you’re looking for, register your CV here.